The prior art is replete with numerous examples of material inspection systems and other devices such as seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,134,006, 6,175,411, 6,401,540, 6,486,962, and 6,836,336, which are useful for imaging traveling or resonant waves in a medium. Heretofore, these devices have been used to investigate the microstructural form and composition of an object. Further, many manufacturers have begun manufacturing and marketing various “microassay kits” that are utilized to detect various materials, including chemicals and biological organisms. These microassay kits, as a general matter, can usually be rapidly processed and permit the use of smaller quantities of analytes in the processing of same. A further parallel effort has been undertaken to provide arrays of microsensors that can rapidly detect the presence of a wide range of analytes. An example of this type of approach is the “lab on a chip” approach. These devices, after use, are often read out or interpreted by using a microscope. Typically, a color change in the device will indicate the presence of a substance or organism to be detected. This method can be implemented manually or by an automated image analysis.
As the size and complexity of these prior art arrays increase, the problems of accurately reading the data produced from these complex arrays has become increasingly difficult. Furthermore, in the fabrication of the microsensor arrays that utilize various electronic sensors, the ability to accurately read or gather a useful and accurate electrical output from the various electric sensors becomes increasingly difficult as the electrical wiring density increases. As could be expected, an increased wire density leads to “cross-talk” between adjacent electrical conductors that may be coupled to different electrical sensors in the same array.
A sensor apparatus and method for detecting various environmental factors that avoids the shortcomings attendant with the prior art practices utilized heretofore is the subject matter of the present application.